Trade Places
by endlessvanity
Summary: Starts at the beginning of season 2. What if Andrea was the one that went after Sophia after the walker ambush? Who will look for them both and how will the two girls survive all alone?
1. Chapter 1 Ambush

**_After reading every single Andrea/Daryl fanfic on this site I finally decided to give it a shot. (I had no idea I liked zombies that much.)_ **

_**The beginning follows the start of the show but I changed a few things to match to my story. This is a very short introduction but a lot of action is to come so tune in!**_

_**I would love some reviews if you guys enjoyed it, it would give me the will to write more! :)**_

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**Chapter One - Ambush**

They had been on the road for days. Driving through the streets of Atlanta looking for any sign of life. Wrecked cars everywhere, dead bodies piled up on the roads, just a plain emptiness in the previously life filled world.

After the CDC incident, Andrea had pulled away from everyone. Dale checked on her in the RV every day but she only ignored him. He didn't give up though. He knew what he had done was wrong, and he had no right to do it but he cared too much about her to let her throw her life away.

In a sense, Andrea didn't hate him that much for it because when she thought about it sometimes, she didn't know if death was a better choice than this life. Death was definitive; it was nothingness. You just stop existing. Did she really want that in those few brief moments before the facility got blown up to pieces? Yes, she definitely did, but it was just all the pain that had been building up. After Amy's death, she didn't see a point in surviving since she had no family left. These people though, she'd grown attached to them. Dale was like a second father to her, he cared for her in a way she appreciated and made her feel safe in all this madness.

But she still couldn't bring herself to forgive him for forcing her to make a choice she didn't actually get to choose. She just couldn't have his death on her conscience.

She had been looking out the RV window as they drove through the wreckage. Daryl was leading the way on his brother's motorcycle. A road full of abandoned cars, all piled up in a single line. And then the RV came to a slow stop. She heard Dale cursing as he opened the door to check out the smoke that was coming out of the front part of the RV. There didn't seem to be any walkers around but when she made her way out of the RV, the place reeked of death and rotting flesh.

"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked.

Dale explained that the radiator hose was broken, and that there was no way they could find one, but then he thought again as he looked around.

Daryl had already started scavenging through the abandoned cars. "There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find here."

They could look for some food, fuel and supplies. This place was a good thing for them even though they would technically be stealing from dead people.

"This is a graveyard." Lori commented.

And she was right but this wasn't the world as they knew it anymore. They had to get what they needed to survive.

Everyone looked hesitant at first, but eventually they agreed to do it and started looking around for supplies. Dale and Glenn were fixing the radiator and Rick was keeping watch near the RV.

Andrea followed T-Dog and Daryl as they walked on further ahead. T-Dog found a hose, and started drawing some fuel from the cars.

Daryl was looking through the cars, his crossbow over his shoulder always within reach. He picked up a knife that was sitting on the passenger's seat inside a red wrecked Volvo. He examined it and turned to Andrea. "You want it?"

She looked at it warily. She wasn't really capable with knives and close combat weapons. She reached out to take it nevertheless. Now was as good a time as any to learn. They couldn't always be using guns because the sound would attract nearby walkers. But she didn't want to have to get up close and personal with those bloody rotting corpses.

"It don't bite." Daryl said.

She looked at him confused, but she realized she had been staring at the knife in her hand as if it was something alien, not hers. She sighed and placed it in her belt pocket. "Where are we gonna go?" She asked as she followed him.

"Whadaya mean?" He asked without looking at her. He kicked a trunk door open and grabbed a white cloth from inside. He examined it. It was a T-shirt that looked just about her size. He tossed it to her.

She grabbed it with a quick reflex, and tied it around her belt. They could use some more clothes. "After we get moving again. There's nothing left, Daryl."

"You don' know that."

She scoffed. "Look around."

He turned to her with a disapproving look on his face. "Even so, I sure as hell ain't gonna take the easy way out."

She looked away. Is that what it had seemed like to him? The easy way out? "Nothing about this is easy!"

"S'why we're still here, blondie."

Of course it had seemed like that to him. Daryl was tough. He was a survivor, she could tell that much. But he couldn't judge her for wanting out of this. He couldn't judge her for wanting to put an end to all this suffering. He knew what it was like to lose a sibling. But at least he had hope his brother would still be alive. She had to watch her own flesh and blood turn into those lifeless monsters. All she wanted to do was look at her bright eyes one last time but as soon as she opened them, she knew that… thing wasn't her sister anymore. She cringed. Her bloody face still haunted her. It was all just too fresh. She closed her eyes, and tried to shake the thought.

She looked inside a car for anything to grab, but she gasped as soon as she caught the reflection on the rearview mirror. She jumped out so fast, she hit her head on the hood. Turning around, she saw a horde of walkers limping between the cars. She felt her blood rush to her head. There were too many. _This was it, they were going to die._ "Oh god! Daryl-" she almost yelled as something grabbed her from the waist and pushed her to the ground.

"Shh!" Daryl put a hand over her mouth and pushed her towards a car. "Get under there!" he whispered.

She did so as quickly as she could, and she watched him go under another car a couple of feet further. She looked at him in search of any kind of reassuring gesture but she didn't get one. He was just uncertain as she was that this would work. She put both her hands over her mouth to muffle the loud, quick breaths she was taking.

She heard footsteps, and soon numerous bodies were dragging themselves all around her. They could have never taken them on one by one. The walkers didn't seem to take notice of them. Maybe they would leave, and they could get out of there as quickly as they could, as long as the RV was still working.

Panic crossed all over her face as she went for the non-existent gun in her pocket. She had left it in the RV, disassembled. All she had on her was the knife Daryl had given her moments ago.

Then, a loud clank was heard and she saw Daryl looking at something she had no visual of. He turned to check on her, and furrowed his eyebrows as if he was making a decision. In a few second span, he rolled out from under the car, and ran to whatever it was he had been looking at. It could have been one of the others that needed help. It would never seem like Daryl to go out of his way to help someone; at least not when she had first met him when he was with Merle.

She tried to keep her composure and not panic. She caught a glimpse of Daryl dragging a bloody T-Dog next to a truck. Was he bitten? She quickly dismissed that notion as she knew that if he really had been bitten, Daryl would have shot him without second thoughts. She saw him throwing a dead body over him, and then taking his turn as he laid on the ground, and placed another dead body over him, but not before looking at her and nodding in a reassuring way.

After a few agitating minutes, the walkers' footsteps seemed to grow further and further away, and soon the silence overpowered the distant moans. They waited a couple of minutes just to make sure they were gone. Suddenly, a scream was heard, and Andrea looked to the other side only to see a terrified Sophia running away from two walkers. Where was the poor girl going all alone, and why had everyone let her? Andrea closed her eyes for a second. She was so close, if she made a run for it she could catch up to her. Then, she opened them, and wondered why she should risk her life for someone else's little girl.

She was already up and running to the woods before she realized that Sophia _wanted _to live. She knew this would be a death sentence for at least one of them, but it might as well be her rather than a kid who hadn't yet had the chance to live.

She could faintly hear Daryl's voice yelling at her not to go, but she was already too far away to start having second thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2 Follow The Tracks

_**Okay so, I want to thank you all for the lovely reviews I honestly wasn't expecting to get so many! I really appreciate each and every one of them. :) I was going to post this next week but I decided to do it now since it's short, too.**_

_**I decided to keep some parts of the dialogue from the show because I liked it and I thought it fit a lot here. I'm still not sure in which direction I'm gonna go with this, I just decide as I write it. Anyway, I hope you guys like it!**_

**_Leave me a review and let me know, any form of criticism is welcome! I always reply to reviews (if I'm able to do so). :)_**

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**Chapter Two – Follow The Tracks**

She saw the girl in the distance running through the woods, clutching her doll as tightly as she could. The walkers were getting too close. If she made a detour she could get to her before they could. She ran around them, always keeping a close distance to her. The two walkers were too focused on Sophia, they hadn't taken any notice of her. One of the walkers stumbled forward and fell on his face, but got back up as if he hadn't felt anything at all.

She took her knife out, not really wanting to get any closer, but she knew she'd have to eventually.

She could get to Sophia now, fast enough to not lose any distance. The girl was terrified, but she was running for dear life. Sophia hadn't seen her, so she gasped, and pushed when Andrea got to her and grabbed her in her arms. "Sophia, Sophia! It's me, Andrea!"

The girl nodded quickly upon seeing Andrea's face, and she could swear her fear had somehow subsided. She had no idea how she was supposed to protect her, but she had to try no matter what. "Kill them!" the girl whimpered.

Andrea looked over Sophia's shoulder and saw the walkers closing in. "Sophia, listen to me. We have to run now, run as fast as we can and we need to find you a place to hide, so I can lure them in." She squeezed the girl's shoulders for reassurance, and she gave her a faint smile just to make her feel better. "We're gonna be okay, come on." She grabbed her tiny hand, and started running without letting go of her.

Sophia was keeping a good pace, and they didn't slow down at all, but she kept looking behind just to make sure the walkers weren't too close. Andrea was never a fast runner, but in situations like these you can apparently surprise yourself. They finally reached a lake with a large opening, a small cave like structure, which seemed like a good place for Sophia to hide.

She came to a halt, and Sophia bumped into her, willing to keep running for miles. She kneeled down in front of her. "Sweetheart, you see that opening right there?" She pointed to it and Sophia nodded. "I want you to go there and hide. I'm going to try to split them up so I can kill them, okay?"

"No, no, no." The girl cried. "Don't leave me alone!" She wouldn't let go of her hand.

"I promise you, I'll come back." She looked deeply into her eyes as if she was trying to carve it into her brain. She would come back even if she was crawling. "If something happens, and I don't come back before nightfall, you have to try to make your way back to the camp." Andrea didn't want to say this to her, but just in case, she wanted to make sure Sophia wouldn't wait for her forever should anything happen.

"But… you'll come back?" Sophia asked with a pleading look.

"Yes, of couse I will." Andrea said and saw the two figures of the walkers in the distance. "Okay, go hide, there's no time!" She gently pushed her towards the opening, and shuffled a few branches and leaves just to make sure she was concealed.

She stood in the middle of the puddle, and waited for the walkers to come closer. She had no idea how she was going to do this, the only weapon she had on her was that knife. She looked at Sophia one last time, barely visible in the cave, holding onto her doll as if it was her mother's hand.

The walkers seemed to see her, and she started yelling and waving her hands around to attract their attention. They growled and stumbled forward like rabid animals. "Come and get me!" Andrea yelled, and started running away. They didn't take any notice of Sophia, so at least the girl would have been spared.

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"Rick!" Daryl yelled as soon as they were safe from the herd. He wanted to run after Andrea who had somehow ran after Sophia. What was she thinking? Why'd she have to be so stupid? She wouldn't make it, she barely even knew how to fire a gun. Did she even have one on her to begin with? "RICK!" he yelled even louder.

Rick ran to Daryl, panting and looking around. "Sophia. There were two walkers after her. She ran away."

"I know that, dammit! That dumb bitch Andrea went after her!" He cursed under his breath. He still couldn't believe she went on her own. She could have at least waited for them to regroup. Mainly, he was pissed at himself for not being able to stop her and avoid all this. He had a freakin' crossbow, he could have taken them out in no time. He looked over at T-Dog who was unconscious, and still bleeding from that nasty cut on his forearm. "Get someone to help him, I'm going after them."

"Wait!" Rick stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "You can't go alone. I'm coming with you." He said.

"Better get movin' then." They grabbed T-Dog from either side, and made their way back to the others. Carol was kneeling to the ground, crying and calling for Sophia. If she didn't quiet down, they would attract the herd right back here.

"What happened to him?" Glenn asked. He came up to them and helped them put T-Dog down against the side of a car. He gulped slowly when he noticed the giant gash on his forearm. It was bleeding like crazy.

"That dumbshit went and got himself cut. Walkers smelled it." He grabbed at his shirt, and ripped a wide line off. It didn't seem like anyone else was going to do it. He grabbed T-Dog's arm and wrapped the cloth tightly around it. T-Dog winced at the stabbing pain. "Shut up unless you'd rather bleed to death."

"We're gonna go look for Sophia and Andrea." Rick said, mainly looking at his wife who was hugging their scared son.

"Andrea?" Dale suddenly spoke up. He was climbing down the ladder of the RV. He must have spotted the herd first, but he couldn't have done anything to warn them. "What happened to her?" The old man asked, concern evident in his voice.

"She went after Sophia."

Dale's eyes grew wide. "What?"

Rick sighed, and placed his arms on his side. "Andrea is going to be fine. At least Sophia is not alone out there."

"How do you know? She could be dead already!" Carol yelled. "My baby…" she whimpered. Lori was right at her side, a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"She doesn't even have her gun. I-I didn't want her to have it in case she wanted to do something crazy." Dale said. "Oh, god."

"We're losin' time, we have to go now!" Daryl said. He was getting fed up with all these people. Explanations could wait for later, right now those two girls' lives were on the line. "I gave Andrea a knife I found in one of the cars. Least she's armed."

"Daryl's right, we have to go. Shane, you stay here, and watch out for walkers. There could be another herd near. Dale, fix the RV. We're leaving as soon as we find them. Everyone else, keep looking for supplies in the cars."

"Be careful." Lori looked at Rick with watery eyes.

Rick only nodded, and lingered there for a few minutes as if any moment he left his family alone was a moment they could die.

Daryl was already moving. He had his crossbow pointed straight ahead, ready to shoot anything. He checked the ground for tracks. There was a pair of footprints that looked too small to be a walker's or Andrea's. "Come on. Sophia went this way."

Rick nodded and followed him. Daryl looked at the ground carefully, always sidestepping, so he wouldn't mess up with the footprints. He was a country boy, and he had spent a lot of his time in the wild. He taught himself how to hunt, how to survive. Tracking was like a second nature to him. Hell, he could track a freaking spider if you asked him to. He once spent a whole day tracking a goddamn deer. It was a pain in the ass to shoot, but when he got home with it over his shoulders, Merle was freaking ecstatic.

"Tracks are gone." Rick said.

"No." Daryl said, pointing to the barely visible tracks. "They're faint, but they ain't gone." He pointed straight ahead. "She came through here."

"How can you tell?" Rick asked. "I don't see anything. Dirt, grass."

"You want a lesson in tracking or you want to find Sophia and Andrea, and get our ass off that interstate?" At that, Rick stopped talking. He tracked her a few yards further but he came to a halt as he noticed another pair of footprints next to Sophia's. He cursed under his breath because for a moment he thought one of the walkers had caught up to her. Then he examined the footprints closely. "Rick. Andrea found her."

"What? You sure?" Rick asked surprised, but also relieved.

"Yeah, see? There's another pair of footprints right here. They keep going together. These ain't walker footprints, they haul themselves and their trails are never clean. These are clean human tracks." Daryl felt a little bit relieved too. At least Sophia wasn't alone, even though being with Andrea didn't make her exactly safe, just safer than she would have been alone. "Blondie got to her, I'll be damned."

"We'll find them." Rick said.

Daryl nodded. "You bet your ass we will."


	3. Chapter 3 Staying Alive

_**I would just like to say thank you to everyone who favorited and reviewed! I really appreciate it. :)**_

_**I know there's not enough Daryl/Andrea interaction yet but it serves the purpose of the storyline for now so you'll just have to hold on a little, I've got big plans for them!**_

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**Chapter Three – Staying Alive**

Andrea had been running for about five minutes, and she was a good ways away from the two walkers. She could only see their figures in the distance, and she was pretty sure they couldn't spot her from that far. She stopped to catch her breath, but she didn't want to run any further. She had to go back for Sophia. She couldn't afford getting lost now. She found a big bush right by a tree. It was thick enough to put her out of sight as she waited for one of the walkers to close by.

She took a few deep breaths, and clasped the handle of the knife so hard she felt it was digging into her skin. _You can do this, Andrea. You can do this, _she thought to herself, trying to believe it.

She now had visual of one of the walkers. It wasn't running anymore, just limping around disoriented. It could smell there was food around somewhere, it just had to find where it was, and Andrea was just about to show it.

She waited until it had its back turned to her, and she noticed it had a huge gash on its spine, as if someone had hit it with an axe but didn't quite go all the way. Its spinal cord was visible through the cut. Andrea tried her best to pull herself together and not to hurl. She slowly stepped out of the bush, her steps as light as a feather. She came up behind the unsuspecting zombie, and used all the strength she had left to shove the knife deep into the back of its skull. It was hard, and it cracked under the pressure. The zombie struggled to turn around and get a bite out of her, but Andrea had a strong grasp on its left shoulder and prevented it from turning around. She sunk the knife deeper and deeper into its skull until it became limp to her hold and fell to the ground, the force bringing her down with it. She hadn't even realized how much blood was coming out of the wound, until she looked at her bloody hands, and felt the knife slip from her hand.

She lied there on top of the dead zombie, letting out a breath she had been subconsciously holding in. She looked around nervously, double-checking if the zombie was dead. She grabbed the handle of the knife that was lodged into the skull, and pulled it out. Sensing movement, she stumbled backwards, and turned around swiftly, the other walker within arm's reach. She gasped in terror, and crawled away from it as fast as she could. The zombie reached for her, and she kicked at it with all she had. The zombie fell backwards, and that gave her enough time to get up quickly, and stab it right in the eye. It took three stabs for it to go completely down, and this time she pulled the knife out just in time as the body went limp under her. She stepped backwards, looking at the dead corpses of the zombies. She actually did it. She killed them.

She placed her hands on her knees, and breathed slowly. Her face felt dirty, and bloody; she could see the blood on her nose from the corner of her eye. She remembered the T-shirt that Daryl had given her, the one that was still wrapped around her belt. She untied it, and felt so thankful for it when she cleaned the blood starting from her face, then her hands, and then the knife. The knife that Daryl had also given her, as if he knew she was going to need it. The knife that had probably saved her life.

But there was no time to waste. She had to get back to Sophia. She hoped nothing had happened and she was still where she left her. She ran as fast as her feet could take her, and she finally saw the lake in the distance. There was no sight of any more walkers on her way back, so that was a good thing.

She stepped in the water, and took slow steps towards the opening. If she was in there, she didn't want to scare her more. "Sophia?" She spoke softly. "Sophia, it's okay, you can come out. It's safe now." She took a couple steps closer. She closed her eyes, and prepared for the worst. But when she felt her tiny body crash into her, she breathed a sigh of relief. She caressed her hair, and smiled. "I told you I'd come back."

Sophia nodded, tiny tears streaming down her face.

"Alright, listen. We're gonna go find some place to hide for now. They'll be looking for us, but we have to lay low for a while cause we don't want to attract anymore of them."

"What if they don't find us?" Sophia asked with a sullen look on her face.

"They will." Andrea smiled. "Now, come on." She reached out to grab Sophia's hand, and the girl gripped it tightly. They had to find some kind of shelter, at least for the time being. Andrea had been running with no sense of direction, so she didn't know which way would lead back to the highway, and she wasn't willing to make any bets in a forest where they were live bait for every walker roaming around.

She braced herself for a long hard day, because they'd probably have to spend the night all alone in the woods.

Daryl and Rick had been looking for what seemed like forever. Their trails were all messed up, some kind of animal must have stepped all over them, or a walker even. Daryl quickly dismissed the thought. They couldn't have gone far but these woods were huge. He knew most of its parts, but that didn't stop everything from looking almost identical.

It was getting dark, and they still hadn't found a viable trail.

"You sure this is the right way?" Rick asked. He looked tired, and there was sweat all over his face.

"No." Daryl only said. Of course he wasn't sure. Hell, he was working on instincts right now. He hated this. It made him feel incompetent. How hard was it to find two girls that were probably scared right out their damn minds? He was at least thankful that Sophia wasn't alone, because if she had been, things would be a lot worse. At the very least, they hadn't encountered any walkers, which was always a good thing. But damn, he didn't want to go back to the highway and have to tell everyone that they couldn't find them. He didn't want to be the one to tell Carol that her little girl was still in the woods. He didn't want to see the worried look on Dale's face when he didn't come back with Andrea.

To be entirely honest with himself, he was sort of worried, too. Out of all the women from their little group, she found Andrea to be the most tolerable. Lori was just too fretting for him –God knows how Rick could handle it at times- and Carol was too sad a view for him to be able to be around for long. The woman was a walking wreck.

But Andrea was different. Before the CDC incident that rendered her on almost the same level as Carol, he could see a fighter in her. Back at the camp, she was always so protective of her younger sister, so in way he understood why she would want to give everything up after she lost her. He was even envious of their relationship because Merle had never been protective of him. Not that he'd want to anyway; it's what made him the person he was, it taught him to fend for himself and never depend on others.

He didn't pity Andrea though, he was mostly just mad at her because he knew the woman had it in her. She was just like him in some ways. Survival was in their nature. And then, she goes and does something like that. She had a deathwish, that was for sure but she also wanted to be a savior. He figured it was a good first step from the way her bright eyes had looked so empty and hollow ever since that day. He wanted to make sure she'd live to make it through.

He remembered one night on camp, which was one of the few interactions they had then. He had just come from the woods, three squirrels tied around his back. She was sitting by the RV with her sister, talking and laughing. He came up to her, and handed the squirrels over. "Here ya go." He had said and made his way a few feet back to his tent.

Moments later, she approached him with a subtle smile on her face. Her eyes gleamed from the fire, and her hair looked like it had tiny sparks coming out of it. "Thank you." She said. "For the squirrels."

He only acknowledged her with a nod, and went back to arranging his hunting equipment. It didn't seem like she'd only come to say thanks though. She stood there as if she was trying to find something else to say.

"Where'd you learn to hunt?" She asked.

He turned to look at her with a questioning look on his face. Why was she suddenly interested in finding out things about him? Small talk? No one ever did that. He and Merle were the group's outcasts; mostly because of Merle's short temper, and to be quite honest, Daryl had inherited some of it, too. But no one bothered them because they knew what they were doing, and the others needed them. This was a first for him though. He realized Andrea was standing there, her hands on her hips, expecting an answer. "My brother taught me. Or that's what he'd want me to say. Mostly I just taught myself."

"Taught yourself, huh?"

"Mhmm."

"Well, for what it's worth, we'd probably starve without you."

He scoffed. "Squirrels taste like shit, anyways."

"Gotta eat what you gotta eat." Andrea said.

He looked at her and chuckled softly.

"You know, you're a lot different than your brother."

Daryl shook his head. He knew his brother didn't have a lot of fans, but he was his flesh and blood. "He ain't a bad guy. Just needs to control himself sometimes."

"Oh, I couldn't agree more." She shifted her position a little, crossing her arms over her chest. "You should come join us. Dale is cooking up those squirrels you brought."

"Nah, I think I'll pass." He wasn't really in the mood to eat anything.

She nodded once in acceptance. "Okay." She said and turned around, starting to walk away. She took a few steps, stopped then turned back around to look at him. "You're a decent guy, Dixon. Don't let yourself stand in your brother's shadow." She only said. He was too dumbfounded for a moment to be able to say anything so she walked away, and he just stood there speechless.

He wasn't used to that. He wasn't used to people seeing him as anything more than a dumb hick who knew how to use a damn crossbow. As far as he was concerned Andrea was alright by his book. That's why he hated her emotional meltdown, because he knew her, even if it was just for a little bit, before Amy's death, before they found out everything was gone, and there wasn't going to be a cure.

"Think we should head back before it gets dark." Rick said, interrupting his thoughts.

He was right, there was no use in looking for them in the dark. They could resume their search as soon as it was light outside. He hated leaving them both in the woods at night but it wasn't like he could start yelling out their names and attract every nearby geek.

"Damn it all to hell." Daryl cursed as they made their way back to the highway.

"They couldn't have gone far. They'll probably find some place to hide. Even if there's any walkers around, they won't have much luck finding them in the dark." Rick said. Comforting and optimistic thoughts, but Daryl was always prepared for the worst.

Soon as they got back to the highway, Rick took charge and told everyone how they couldn't find them and that they'd start looking again tomorrow morning. Daryl made his way back to the RV, avoiding any eye contact, refusing to see the worried looks on everyone's faces. Carol's sobbing kept him awake all night, and he promised himself he would find them both or he'd die trying.


	4. Chapter 4 Empty Promises

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long but I've been really busy with school and work and other stuff. This is pretty short but I'm expecting the next chapter to be quite long. Please bear with me, I promise there will be plenty of lovely Daryl/Andrea moments, I just have this habit of always taking things slow. :) Please review, I would love to hear what you thought! 3**

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**Chapter Four – Empty Promises**

The bright morning light hurt Andrea's eyes. She opened them once, and closed them again, rubbing them softly with her knuckles in an attempt to adjust to the sunlight. She looked around nervously as soon as she realized where she was.

They had found a tiny opening behind a large tree with some bushes surrounding it, which made for a very good hiding spot but she couldn't say the same for the sleeping part. The spongy ground felt very icky to the touch, and the oddly placed stones hurt her back no matter how many positions she had shifted during the night. Sleeping on the ground was quite an unpleasant change, and suddenly, the once uncomfortable bed in the back of the RV seemed like a feather mattress to her.

Sophia was curled up next to her, her pale face dirty and muddy, as well as her clothes. They were thirsty and hungry, and Andrea didn't know if they could make it for long, at least not without finding some water first. She would go look for a lake or a river or some other kind of pond that had drinkable water in it, but she wasn't going to leave Sophia alone.

She pushed some of the shrubs aside and looked carefully around, just to make sure everything was clear. It was, but the eerie silence still scared her. She tried to remind herself of all those times she went camping with her father and her sister, and how she comforted Amy when she said she was scared of all the weird sounds. "_It's only nature, and small animals that can't hurt you_." She had told her. It was funny how Andrea was now scared because of the lack of those sounds, but she realized there wasn't much of nature left anymore. Even the animals became food for the walkers, and there couldn't be that many of them left anymore. At least not the ones that couldn't run away fast.

Sophia shifted around a little bit, and then opened her eyes, the scared look on her face never leaving even in the light of a new day. If anything, it was more evident now.

"Good morning, sweetie." Andrea smiled. She always tried to smile even if there was nothing to smile about, but she wanted to make Sophia feel better.

"Good morning." Sophia said, and then her stomach growled. "I'm hungry." She looked down.

Andrea tilted her head to the side. "I know, I am, too." She looked around again. The quietness still bothered her. "We can go look for some food. Maybe some fruit."

Sophia nodded eagerly, and grabbed her doll, as she got up abruptly.

Andrea immediately placed two hands on her shoulders and stopped her. "Hold on, I'm going to get out of here first, and make sure it's safe." She pushed the bush leaves aside, and slowly crept out of their hiding place. She pressed a hand against her belt, making sure the knife was in place and ready to be drawn. She cringed at the thought of killing any more of those things, but it wasn't like she had any other choice. There didn't seem to be any sign of movement in the immediate vicinity, but she took a couple of steps further just to be sure. She then made her way back to the bush and grabbed Sophia's hand. The girl followed her without letting go of it.

"Do you think my mom is okay?" She spoke softly.

Andrea turned to her, and felt so sorry for her. The look on her face was too much to take. "I'm sure she is." She nodded in agreement. "The others are keeping her safe. They'll come looking for us soon, too."

They remained silent after that, for quite a long time. They walked and walked, and there didn't seem to be anything alive anywhere in the forest. In fact, Sophia must have felt safe enough because she let go of her hand at some point but still walked very close to her.

After what seemed like an hour, they found a ditch with a small pond at the bottom. The sight of water reminded her how parched she was, and she breathed a sigh of relief, as they made their way down. They took very careful steps because it was quite steep, and the last thing she wanted was to die by falling down. She helped Sophia whenever she couldn't reach certain parts but within minutes they had made it to the bottom. They both ran to the pond, and after Andrea checked the water, she nodded and they both drank what seemed like gallons.

"Ah." She sat down, and felt refreshed, rejuvenated. "I feel so much better."

"Me, too." Sophia said. "But I'm still hungry."

Andrea realized how hungry she was, too. It wasn't like they had been eating much while they were on the road. Food was scarce but they must have found some on the highway, except she didn't get to see any of it. "There must be some kind of fruit tree or something around."

Sophia got up and walked a few feet away from her.

"Sophia, stay close." Andrea said. "We need to rest for a bit, anyway."

The girl seemed to examine something in the distance, and suddenly her face lit up as she pointed at something. "Andrea, look!"

Andrea got up quickly and made her way to Sophia. Following her finger, she made out a small structure in the distance, some kind of shack. "Oh, thank god. There has to be something we can eat there."

"Maybe there are other people, too!" Sophia said hopefully.

"I wouldn't think so. In fact, we should be careful cause there could be walkers inside." She grabbed the girl's hand and made her way towards the small building, never expecting what she was about to find.

As soon as daylight came, Daryl was already up. His crossbow was resting on the back of the truck, so he grabbed it and made his way to Rick. No one else apart from Dale, who was on the top of the RV, seemed to be awake. He didn't know why he should be informing Rick of this, but it just felt right. "Hey." He greeted him. "I'm gonna head out, look for them some more."

Rick turned his attention to him, and furrowed his eyebrows. "You're not going alone."

"I'm better off tracking alone. I'll be quicker."

"No, look, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right." Rick said in a strict manner.

"You do it right, sheriff, but I'm gon' do it my way." He slung his crossbow over his shoulder, and made his way to the woods, ignoring a dumbfounded Rick who was looking at him.

The woods seemed a lot quiter today, mostly because it was so early in the morning, and the annoying cicadas hadn't started shrilling yet. He had memorized the way to the small lake, so he walked there and using it as a starting point, he started looking for tracks again. He noticed a bunch of fresh tracks, walkers', and tried to make out how many they were. Two at most, he wasn't certain cause those damn things couldn't walk straight if their lives depended on it.

_Lives_. He scoffed at himself. They were _dead_.

The sun was now brighter than ever, the trees casting shadows everywhere. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and longed for a cup of hot coffee to wake him up. He honestly didn't know if he'd ever get to do any of the things he used to before the shit hit the fan. Like listen to good song on the radio while driving. Have a good meal. Go to a concert. Have tap beer. Watch a movie. Argue with his hot-headed brother. Hell, he'd never even get married or have kids. He laughed to himself again; he was thinking too far ahead. He didn't see a bright future; he didn't see any future. He didn't even know if he was going to live another day. Survival was the most important part of their lives now. The rest didn't matter.

It was almost too quiet and it started troubling him a bit. "Andrea! Sophia!" He yelled their names. Best case scenario, they were close and they had heard him. Worst case scenario, he attracted a bunch of walkers who could have been after them anyway, so really, he didn't see any harm in doing that. But no answer came. Not that he'd expected anything, he just thought _what the hell_. He wasn't about to give up though, not in a million years, not when they could be so close, and he was pretty much the only one who could find them.

He was lost in his thoughts when a scream echoed in the woods. He stood there for a moment, contemplating the distance and then ran as fast as his feet could take him.


	5. Chapter 5 Letting Go

_Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter! I would like to thank you all for the reviews, I really appreciate them! I thought this chapter would have been a little bit longer but I decided to cut it there, in order to start the new one. I kind of wrote some parts in a hurry so I'm really sorry for any grammatical mistakes and such._

_Anyways, hope you like it, and if you do, don't forget to review! :]_

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**Chapter Five – Letting Go**

Daryl ran for what seemed like miles; it was as if time had frozen, and every second he wasted could be fatal. He followed the screams, but they only lasted a few seconds. They had to be close though. They were definitely female but because of the distance he couldn't tell to whom they belonged.

He saw movement in the distance, so he lowered his pace, and walked silently towards it. As he approached the figures, he cursed almost too loud. Walkers; about five of them. They weren't too many for him to handle, but for Andrea and Sophia…

_No. _He refused to think about it. Just because there were walkers there didn't mean the screams came from the girls. Even though the chances that there were other survivors around were pretty slim, he chose to believe that for now.

He walked stealthily towards one of the walkers, keeping a safe distance but also trying to be close enough to take the shot. He aimed for the head, and just as he was about to pull the trigger, he felt something tugging at his shirt, pulling him towards it. He subconsciously went for the blow, his elbow ready to collide with its attacker but he stopped it in mid-air as soon as he realized who it was.

"Daryl!" she said and he could hear the relief and tiredness in her voice.

_Andrea. She was alive. She is alive._

That was all he could think about for a moment before he started taking in his surroundings. She had pulled him inside the trunk of a hollow tree, and it was so confined that his face was inches away from hers. He had to put his left hand against the trunk, a few inches over her right shoulder, because it wouldn't fit anywhere else.

She seemed to be holding a breath, and her face looked flustered. Her short breaths landed on his exposed chest skin, and suddenly he felt extremely hot, and not just from the Georgia heat.

"You okay, Blondie?" he asked quietly.

She nodded quickly, but she didn't look okay at all.

"Where's Sophia?" he asked upon realizing the little girl was not with her. He suddenly feared for the worst, but patiently waited for her reply, trying not to jump into conclusions.

Andrea's eyes clouded and she burst into tears. "I lost her, Daryl!" She lowered her head and because of the confined space, her face was on his chest, tears staining his already dirty flannel shirt. She didn't want to cry but she couldn't help herself. "I'm so sorry." She sniffled, and tried to regain her composure.

He wasn't good with comforting crying people. If anything, they made him uncomfortable, and he always wished he could make them stop. But for some reason, he wanted to comfort Andrea, tell her they were going to find Sophia, and that she shouldn't worry. "S'okay." He dropped the crossbow on the ground, and wrapped his other arm around her. "We're gon' find her. Ya hear me?"

Andrea moved a few inches back and looked up at him. She nodded.

"Jus' tell me what happened." He said as he awkwardly removed his arm from around her. He wasn't used to being this expressive with other people but with her, it just came naturally.

Andrea seemed to be panicking, trying to recollect her thoughts but she was still too upset to say anything definitive. "I-I… I, uh…" She closed her eyes, wiped the tears from her face and took a deep breath. "We'd been walking for so long, and- and we found this small pond, and we took a rest. Then we-we, uh, saw that shack over there." She cringed, and the tears threatened to start streaming again. "Oh, god, I'm so stupid, _so_ stupid."

"Hey, hey." He said. "Calm down. Ya ain't stupid."

"I just… I thought that maybe we could find some food or something."

He looked at her sympathetically. They probably didn't get what they hoped for. "Walkers?"

She nodded. "I panicked." She brought her shoulders to her ears. "I told her to run. I couldn't take them all on, so I made them follow me, and I hid in here."

"You did good. Sophia's probably alive right now thanks to you."

"What if she's not?"

"She is, and we're gon' find her." He moved around a bit, trying to make room to peek outside. The walkers were shuffling around, not entirely too sure where their food was hiding, but they weren't going anywhere anytime soon. "Alright, there are three of them pretty close to us. I can shoot one of them but the other two could be too close before I can reload the crossbow. You're gonna have to take one of them."

"Daryl, wait." She stopped him before he was able to devise his next plan. "There's something you need to know."

He raised an eyebrow. What was so important that she had to tell him right now, with all those geeks outside?

She avoided his gaze. "One of the… walkers. It's, uh, it's Merle."

_Merle. That son of a bitch. No. He was a tough one, he couldn't be dead._

_Goddammit._

"I'm so sorry, Daryl."

His eyes were fixated on a random spot of the tree trunk. He tried to think of what to do next but all he could think about was his dead brother rising from the dead, and becoming another one of those flesh-eating geeks. "_Fuck_. Shoulda looked harder for him." He cursed under his breath.

"No, no. You did everything you could to find him." She grabbed him by the shoulders, and forced him to look at her. "You went _back_ for him."

"Wasn't enough."

"Daryl, no. Listen to me." She pressed both her hands on either side of his face, not too gently at all. "I know what it's like to lose a loved one."

He looked at her with a pained expression on his face but all he could let out was anger. He punched his fist against the tree trunk. It hurt his knuckles like fuck, but the pain was the least of his concerns.

"_I know._" She repeated. "We don't have to go out there yet if you don't want to."

He looked at her for a few seconds, her bright green eyes showing nothing but sympathy and compassion. He remembered when Amy got bit, and she stayed with her until she turned just so she could see her looking at her again for the last time. But she knew she had to go. He had to do the same for Merle. He looked down, grabbed her wrists, and gently removed her hands from his face. "Let's go." He said without giving her a second look.

She was hesitant but she followed.

He grabbed his crossbow, and since it was already armed, he aimed it at the walker that was closest to them. He had his back turned to them, so it hit him at the back of his skull. It growled and fell to the ground, and the sound startled the walkers that were a few feet further. They took notice of Daryl and Andrea and they started limping and running towards them. Daryl gestured to Andrea to go for the walker on the left who was a bit closer than the other, while Daryl ran to the dead body, and dislodged the arrow out of its skull. He quickly reloaded the crossbow and went for the other one.

Andrea took her knife out, and clumsily went for the other walker. It spread its arms outwards, desperately trying to grab at her, and she pushed it away, but not before she managed to stab it right in the eye. She immediately felt like gagging as soon as the blood and _other_ stuff started falling out but the damn thing still wasn't dead. It fell with its back to the ground, and it still tried to grab her. She screamed, and stepped on the back of the knife with the heel of her boot, lodging the knife further into its skull, making sure it destroyed the brain. She looked at it for a while, and she kept referring to it as '_it_' because it was so decayed and deformed, she couldn't tell if it had previously been male or female. She grabbed the knife and pulled it out, without looking at what had been left of the eye. She looked over at Daryl. The second walker was already on the ground, and he was currently pulling his arrow out of its head.

He looked at her and nodded, gesturing at her to take the other two walkers out together. They were quite a few feet away, and not too alarmed by their presence. They walked closer together towards their direction. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She gulped, trying not to hurl.

Daryl was reloading his crossbow, and saw him as they walked closer.

_Merle._

His features were distinctive, and even as a walker, he looked awfully overpowering. He was still an ugly motherfucker, but it was not a pretty sight seeing his brother like this. His right hand was missing, so it was undoubtedly him, no matter how much he had hoped it was just a geek that looked like him. His eyes were cloudy blue, and the skin was red all around. He had blood all over his face, and a large gaping wound by his left rib. He didn't wanna think of how painful his death must have been. All he had to do now was put him out of his misery. He raised his crossbow and took aim.

_Just pull the trigger._

Andrea looked at him, patiently waiting for him to take the shot. She knew how hard it was, but at the same time Merle was closing in on both of them. It was an easy shot, but she was starting to doubt whether he could take it or not. The other walker was a few feet behind but he was also closing in fast. "Daryl." She simply called out his name.

His forehead was dripping wet, and his eyes had turned into slits. Merle growled, and stretched his arms outwards, but the inhuman sounds he was making were enough for Daryl to realize that it wasn't his brother anymore. His body was just a shell now, and that thing that was standing in front of him was nothing more than a mindless beast. "Damn you, Merle." He whispered before taking the shot. The arrow stabbed him right in the temple, and it took mere seconds for him to go down.

Andrea let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, and gave him a reassuring nod the minute he turned to look at her. She went for the other walker and took him out quickly without flinching one bit. It went down just like all the rest. Then, she went on to stand by Daryl who was looking down at his _now_ dead brother. She looked at Daryl. His features were hardened, and she could only assume he was trying to hold back tears. Or maybe he had prepared himself for the worst the minute they lost Merle. It couldn't have been easy either way, because must have been hope somewhere inside him that he might have survived. At least he knew now. "It's gonna be okay." She said as she briefly touched his arm.

Daryl didn't reply, but he went on to take the arrow out without looking at him again. He turned around and started walking away. "Let's go find Sophia." He said, and Andrea could do nothing but follow.


End file.
